Fury at Edinburgh airport 'access charge'

• Bosses justify the new charge by saying it will help cut emissions and the money raised will be reinvested to improve facilities. Picture: Ian Rutherford

Airport operator BAA has been accused of being "greedy" following the decision to impose the "ridiculous" charges from the beginning of October, a move which could see nearly 1 million a year raked in from motorists.

The charges for "kiss and fly" journeys will apply to both the general public and taxi drivers, who will get 10 minutes for their 1.

However, anyone who overstays the designated 10 minutes will then have to stump up more cash, although the excess charge has yet to be decided.

Airport bosses claim that the charge is needed to cover the costs of 4 million to improve services for passengers and also reduce vehicle emissions.

Similar charges are in place at Newcastle and Luton airports, run by Newcastle International Airport Ltd and London Luton Airport Operations Ltd respectively.

But BAA has ruled out imposing charges at its other airports of Glasgow, Aberdeen and London Heathrow.

Under the changes at Edinburgh, the existing drop-off point will be shifted to the bottom of the airport's multi-storey car park and will be known as a "fast-track" drop-off point.

Officials from BAA said that motorists will still be able to drop off passengers free of charge, but will have to do that at the airport's long-stay car park, which is five minutes away from the main site.

A sign will also be put up warning motorists that they are about to enter the fast-track zone, and they will then be hit by the 1 charge if they go past the final exit on the approach to the area.

The airport's management said that the scheme, which is costing 1 million to introduce, will make it easier to accommodate traffic coming to the site and will reduce bottlenecks.

BAA went on to say that a further 3 million has been spent on improvements such as enhanced security and that it needed to recover cash already laid out.

The operator said that it wanted to encourage people to use public transport to get to the airport and that it would put on two more free buses to help passengers get from the free drop-off point in the long-stay car park to the main site.

However, Lothians Conservative MSP Gavin Brown claimed that some people relied on cars to get to the airport due to the lack of direct bus routes.

He said: "This drop-off tax is ridiculous and an unnecessary charge to airport users. I would be very interested to know what consultation, if any, actually took place with passengers.

"For a lot of people, getting public transport to the airport is not a viable option. I have been contacted by elderly residents and constituents with young children who don't have an alternative to getting to the airport.

"I would urge Edinburgh airport to think seriously about this before implementing it."

Mr Brown said that he would launch a campaign on the issue and promised to raise the matter in the Scottish Parliament.

Meanwhile, BAA said that 15p from each 1 collected would be spent on improving public transport for airport passengers and on environmental projects.

The airport operator denied the claim by Mr Brown that it had not held a consultation on the decision to impose the charges, and said that it had spoken to groups including the Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce.

The Edinburgh Chamber' managing director Graham Birse said: "We have to look at this in terms of the increased pressures there are to tackle increased carbon emissions and the need the airport has to ensure customer safety."

However, groups representing motorists and hotel bosses reacted with anger at the decision, which they claimed was a tax on passengers who were left with no choice but to pay.

Neil Greig, director of research and policy at the Institute of Advanced Motorists, said: "Most drivers will see this as yet another charge to do something that is perfectly logical.

"Although there is regular public transport from the city centre to Edinburgh airport, we shouldn't forget that it serves a very wide catchment area and, nine times out of 10, people are either going to travel there by car or taxi.

"It's just another added tax on the motorist.

"All this is going to do is force people to get dropped off further and further away from the airport terminal.

"We're going to see people lugging their cases along the road as drivers try to avoid this charge.

"It certainly doesn't add to the whole airport experience."

Colin Paton, chairman of the Edinburgh Principal Hotels Association, said: "Customers won't be happy about it at all, but there's nothing they can really do about it; they'll have no option but to pay up when they drop someone off."

Robert Dunabie, vice-chairman of the Scottish Taxi Federation, said that taxi firms would not be able to recoup the 1 charge by hiking fares.

He said: "Taxi companies cannot automatically pass this extra cost on to the passenger and in any case it's not their fault that BAA has decided to do this."

Gordon Dewar, managing director of Edinburgh airport, defended the charges and said: "We do not agree with Gavin Brown's opposition to us providing better facilities for our passengers and reducing the costs for airlines to add more destinations and flights to the growing portfolio at Edinburgh.

"Every other mode of transport contributes to drop-off close to our terminal and we believe that drivers should be no different.

"As responsible airport managers, we have to make difficult decisions about how best to balance the needs of Edinburgh. We believe that this drop-off facility allows us to provide a better airport for all.

"As an airport, we need to balance providing the best facility for passengers and attracting as many routes as we can to Edinburgh and Scotland.

"In the last year, we have invested approximately 50m in improving our airport. We do this without subsidy or public money whilst remaining commercial and realistic with our airport customers."

The airport operator also said that buses would not be affected by the 1 charge, as there is a designated spot for them along with two taxi firms who pay to use a part of the site.

However, the charges were criticised as "small-minded and punitive" by Edinburgh Conservative councillor Mark McInnes.

He said: "The airport will have to introduce all sorts of security and bureaucracy to make this work.

"It will end up not making that much money. It's greedy to do this and it should be dropped now."

Margaret Smith, the Lib Dem Edinburgh West MSP, described the charges as "unnecessary and unfair". She said: "Any reduced access to drop-off and collection points near the terminal building will have a significant impact on disabled and older passengers who may well struggle with the reduced accessibility.

"I have raised my concerns with management at Edinburgh airport and will continue to press for the charges not to be introduced."

Labour Lothians MSP Lord Foulkes said: "It's completely unreasonable to impose charges like this and I hope there will be a rethink.

"A lot of people will be hit hard by this such as parents dropping off their son or daughter at the airport before they travel back to university when they just want to make sure their child gets to the airport safely.

"The people behind this decision don't seem to have thought this through at all."

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